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“Dude’s ripped.” “Paul Ryan is a workout freak.” “He has the Hollywood looks.”

And they’re hot on the trail, hoping to unearth something juicy about the 42-year-old congressman. They’ve already struck gold, as far as they’re concerned: A shirtless photo of Ryan.

The website hasn’t expressed this much interest in a politician since another Midwest politician whose shirtless photos they stumbled upon: Rep. Aaron Schock.

Colin Drummond, a Washington, D.C.-based paparazzo who frequently strings for TMZ, provided the website with its first rope-line interview of Ryan following Romney’s announcement, in which he asked Ryan about his workout routine. Drummond talked to POLITICO about his ongoing plans for covering Ryan for TMZ.

“Paul Ryan is definitely the ‘it’ guy right now, but not only because he’s Romney’s VP nominee choice, but because of his good looks and the quirky way he carries himself,” Drummond said. “I’ve known him for walking around Congress listening to his iPod and playing Led Zeppelin. I’d like to find out who else he listens to while working out in the morning, who he likes/hates in Hollywood, and who he’d like to see play [him] in HBO’s 2016 documentary.”

Drummond guessed that shirtless photos of Ryan “can fetch up to a low five figures this week.”

TMZ’s ongoing pursuit of Ryan won’t be easy, however, given Ryan’s deft touch in media relations.

“All in all, Ryan seems witty enough not to brush off any outlandish questions I ask him, and smart enough to know that I service the pop culture which the GOP so desperately needs these days,” Drummond said.

If there were ever a literacy test to vote, there would be no more Democrats.

I look forward to Fox's Hannity show going to New York City and interviewing Obama supporters as he did in 2008 and asking them if they think that Obama picking Ryan for his running mate was a good idea and have them all agree that it was a wonderful idea. Or stump them with hard questions like "Who is Joe Biden?"

I predict Rich Lowry will be as aroused as he said he was, sexually, by Palin. Prediction two: A conservative will retort with a witty and original line about Chris Matthews and a thrill running up his leg.